Urban Decay
by Comedicdrama
Summary: AU. Teenage Dean helps his friend Cas complete a final project for his senior class. They decide to go to an abandoned carnival and discover things they never knew before. And a bratty Sam tags along.


**A/N: This was written for the SPN Spring Fling, based on a prompt by slinkymilinky.**

**As usual, reviews and comments are greatly appreciated.**

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A whining voice rose from the backseat, "Are we there yet?"

He glanced into the rearview mirror, glaring daggers at his brother. "Shut up, Sam." He turned to the man in the passenger side seat, "Sorry 'bout him, Cas. My dad made me bring him along."

Cas glanced back with a slight smile. "It's okay. I don't mind."

"He heard me say amusement park, and he wouldn't drop it. Didn't seem to care that it's been abandoned." Dean shook his head.

Cas replied reassuringly. "Don't worry about it."

The same whining voice started again from the backseat. "Are we there yeeeeet?"

Dean slammed his hands against the steering wheel, not wanting to take his eyes off the road again. "Dammit, Sam, we just left! Two more hours."

Cas, feeling a little uncomfortable, chimed in, "I hope this wasn't a problem... I could have asked my parents, or something."

Dean looked almost offended. "No way, man. You know you can ask me for anything, anytime."

Cas gave another small smile. "Thanks, Dean."

"Deeeeaaaaan."

"I swear to God, Sam..." He released a long sigh, "So, Cas... This might be a crazy question, but why exactly are we spending a Saturday going to an abandoned carnival hours away from home?"

"My senior project for art. I need to do a photo study on urban decay and I found out about this place on Google. Figured it was the perfect opportunity."

Dean suddenly felt someone punch him on the shoulder. "Slug bug! Yellow!"

The Impala swerved a bit as Dean recoiled from the surprise attack. "Sam! If I hear another peep out of you, I'm leaving your ass on the side of the road."

"Peep."

"That's it!" Dean pulled off the road and faced Cas, giving him a wink. Cas nodded in understanding before Dean turned around to face Sam, "Get out."

"What?"

"I warned you. Now get out."

"I'm gonna tell Dad."

Dean killed the ignition, climbed out the driver side door and walked to the back, pulling Sam's door open. He crawled into the back seat next to Sam, getting as close to him as he could. He gave him a serious look, "You're gonna what?"

Sam looked between Dean and Cas nervously. "I'm gonna tell."

Dean pinched Sam's side and Sam instinctively buckled over and fought back a laugh. Dean let a small smile slip. "You're gonna what?"

"Don't, Dean!"

Dean continued poking at Sam until he was laughing and squirming. "Sorry, can't hear you. What are you gonna do, punk?"

Sam gasped between laughs, "I'll... be... good..."

"You'll be good?" Dean pinned him to the seat, tickling him even more, loud giggles escaping his younger brother's mouth.

"Yes! Just... stop!"

Dean smiled up at Cas in the front seat, who had turned himself to watch the scene unfold. "You hear that, Cas? He said he'd be good."

Cas smiled back at Dean, "I heard."

"I guess that means I can let him stay."

Cas shrugged, "I don't see why not. He'll be good, after all."

Dean helped Sam sit up, and shook his finger at him authoritatively, "Alright, Sammy... You'll live this time. Next time, though, you're on your own. You'll have to hitchhike back home."

Sam wiped the tears from his eyes, "It's not fair, and you know it. You cheated."

Dean raised an eyebrow and looked to Cas, "Did I cheat, Cas?"

Cas paused a moment and glanced between the two brothers. "No... No, I don't think so."

"See, Sam? Cas hath spoken." Dean patted Sam on the back and climbed out of the backseat, shutting the door behind him. He quickly reclaimed his driver seat, and the Impala was back on the road.

Over two hours later, they arrived at the abandoned carnival grounds. Cas looked around, amazed at the amount of vandalism; however, it sparked his creative curiosity and he marched forward and began contemplating camera angles.

Dean stayed by the Impala watching Cas do his thing while Sam complained that there wasn't an actual carnival. Dean just shook his head.

Once Cas began taking pictures, Dean followed him around trying to develop an appreciation for this "urban decay", but finding it hard. Rusty metal, broken windows, warped wood, and plant overgrowth. Nothing about it screamed art. Cas obviously thought otherwise.

Hours into their trip, they stumbled upon a derelict funhouse of sorts. Sam had run off to explore on his own, and Dean trailed behind Cas like a lost puppy. He was out of his element, but when he saw the funhouse, he convinced Cas it would be fun to go inside. Cas anxiously agreed, not sure about the safety of the building.

When they walked in, the heavy doors slammed shut behind them. Dean went to try the doors and realized they were stuck.

"Shit..."

"What is it?" Cas came up behind him, a hint of worry in his voice.

"The doors are jammed."

"That's not good."

Dean tried pulling on the doors again with no avail. He turned to Cas, "Nope."

"What are we going to do?"

"Sam's out there somewhere. He can help, maybe."

"Sam? Great, we're doomed."

"Nah, he's a good kid. He'll help once he realizes we're missing."

"How long will that take?"

"No idea. But, hey, we're in a funhouse... Might as well have some fun. Follow me."

Cas followed close behind Dean, letting him lead him through the dilapidated building. There wasn't much to see, the insides must have been looted long ago, but Dean managed to find an old clown dummy laying in a corner and grabbed the mask off its head. He smiled at Cas, but Cas didn't dare question it.

Dean lead on, ushering Cas through the next section; the mirror maze. Most of the mirrors were broken, but Dean still managed to get turned around. He and Cas managed to get stuck in a corner. Dean paused and smiled at Cas.

Cas tilted his head slightly. "What?"

Dean let his smile fade. "Nothing. I think we might be able to find an exit, though. There's always more than one way out of a funhouse."

"Yeah, good idea."

Dean grabbed Cas' shoulders and spun him around, pushing him forward out of the corner and steering him out of the maze. Cas didn't seem to mind being guided by Dean, so Dean continued pushing him into the next room; the wobbly room with uneven floors.

Dean lead him on, the floor moving with each step, balance becoming a chore.

Cas spoke up, clearly uneasy, "Is the floor supposed to be moving like that?"

"I hope so."

Dean let go of Cas' shoulders and joined his side, figuring it would be easier to get through the room that way. They moved forward, the floor wobbling under each step, rocking back and forth. The next room was close, they just had to get to it.

Nearing the end of the room, Cas misstepped and his foot went through the floor. That, coupled with the balance of the room, sent him toppling onto Dean, knocking them both to the ground.

Dean laid there with Cas on top of him, scared to move. "Shit, Cas, are you okay?"

Cas grunted a bit, assessing his leg. "Yeah, I think so."

Dean looked relieved. "Good." He stared into Cas' eyes, making sure there was no doubt.

Cas remained silent, just staring back, motionless. Dean took the opportunity to steal a kiss.

Cas blinked at him, eyes wide. "What was that for?"

Dean panicked. "Nothing. Sorry, it was stupid. Let's get out of here, okay?"

Cas didn't say anything as Dean maneuvered Cas off of himself and helped them both onto their feet. Dean glanced at him, and then moved forward to the edge of the room, motioning for Cas to follow.

The next room lead to another door, which seemed to be the exit. Dean walked forward and tried the door, but it was locked. He sighed, and started banging on the door. Cas hobbled over to him and waited by his side.

Dean heard a faint voice on the other side of the door. "Deeeeaaaaan?" The voice drew closer and closer. Dean banged on the door again and the voice appeared right outside the door. "Dean?"

"Sammy, is that you?"

"Yeah... Where have you been?"

"Where do you think? Can you help us out of here?"

The door shook a bit as Sam tried it. "It's locked."

"No shit, Sammy. Can you pick it?"

"I can try."

As Sam worked on the door, Dean turned to Cas and smiled a sly smile.

Cas tiled his head a bit, mirroring the smile. "What's that look for?"

Dean was beaming, "You remember that clown mask I grabbed?"

Cas' expression dropped. "Yeah..."

Dean pulled it out of his pocket. "Well, watch this."

Sam managed to get the locks to open, and the door slowly opened. Dean pulled the mask over his face, and began to moan like a zombie, sticking his arms straight out, and lunged for Sam.

Sam panicked, his eyes wide in fear. "ZOMBIE CLOWN!" Sam pushed Dean away and started running as fast as his awkward legs would take him in the direction of the Impala.

Dean fell on his ass and pulled of the mask, hardly able to control his laughter. Cas just shook his head, fighting his smile. "That's not fair."

"He'll look back on this one day and laugh about it." Dean threw the mask back into the funhouse, and helped Cas outside. He threw his arm around his shoulder and helped him hobble back to the Impala.

They saw Sam hiding in the backseat and laughed a little. "That kid can move fast."

"Yeah. It helps that his legs are so long."

"Hey, Dean?"

"Yeah, Cas?"

"Thanks for that back there."

"Don't worry about it. I've always got your back, you know that."

"Yeah..." Cas leaned forward and stole a quick kiss from Dean, and hobbled to the Impala.

Dean stood there speechless this time before a small smile spread across his face. He approached the driver side door.

Dean jingled the keys to get Cas' attention. "So, Cas, you get what you needed?"

Cas smiled at him. "Yeah, I think so."

Dean returned the smile, and opened the door. "Good, let's get the hell out of here."

Dean started the car, making sure everyone was inside and ready to go. He pulled out of the abandoned carnival, hoping never to return to such a safety hazard. He glanced over at Cas and smiled. Cas returned the smile, and the drove in silence.

Halfway home, Dean heard a voice from the backseat, "Dean and Cas, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G..."


End file.
